The Tower of Babel

The Tower of Babel, in chapter 11 of the Book of Genesis, relates the events that occurred following the Great Flood. After the Flood, Noah's descendants ventured westward, where they eventually came upon the "land of Shinar." Adjusting themselves to their new surroundings, they happily lived there for some time, that is, until they decided to build a city and a tower "whose top may reach into heaven." They also decided to give themselves a common name "lest [they] be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth." Although the Bible does not explicitly state what this name was, I believe that it may have been "human," or some similar word (but I digress). Thus, it comes to pass that these people build the city and tower, but--rather than delighted with His Creation's success--God is disturbed by their progress. He realized that, as a result of their unison under a common language, these people posed a great threat; He realized that, unless these people were somehow divided, nothing that they sought would be out of their reach. He therefore "confounded their language," thereby preventing them from effectively communicating with each other, and then "scattered them upon the face of all the earth" so as to isolate. By doing this, God ensured that humanity would never again be able to challenge His godly status.

Since I was a child, I have always wanted to learn how to speak German, considering my family is mostly of German descent. Unfortunately, I was forced into taking Spanish classes from an early age, since my middle school did not provide me with the opportunity to take German courses. Nevertheless, after I am finished with high school, I plan on buying a Rosetta Stone program (for German) so that I may be able to learn the German language. Perhaps I will eventually be able to speak German fluently if I dedicate myself to consistent practice.

 

One of the greatest songs of all time by one of the greatest bands of all time, Led Zeppelin's "Stairway to Heaven" continues to captivate audiences around the world. Although I did not elaborate on my "stairway to heaven," I feel that this blog post would not be complete without this picture.